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Daily Dish: 11/2/2012

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
11/02/2012 08:16:10 AM EDT

Simon Baker, left, and Kristen Stewart at a news conference Thursday to announce that Jodie Foster will be the next recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Foster will receive the award at the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony on Jan. 13. AP PHOTO

Ne-Yo makes surprise appearance with Tim McGraw

Ne-Yo feels right at home in Music City.

The silky-voiced R&B star joined Tim McGraw for a surprise performance Wednesday night. The two sang a pair of duets for a crowd of a few hundred invited guests at a private event on the eve of the Country Music Association Awards.

"Faith Hill actually made me fried chicken," Ne-Yo said. "She cooked fried chicken for me and it was fantastic. I knew I was coming out here to write, so I was expecting to go to like a studio and hear some skeletal track and then just go from there. I went to Tim and Faith's house. It was me, Tim and a guy with a guitar in the living room as the kids ran around, and it was the greatest writing experience I've ever had in my life."

The two sang McGraw's "Only Human" from his "Emotional Traffic" album. Then they wrapped up with Ne-Yo's "She Is" from his Nov. 6 release "R.E.D."

NBC doing benefit concert for Sandy victims

NBC is doing a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy featuring some artists native to the areas hardest hit.

Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi of New Jersey and Billy Joel of Long Island are scheduled to appear at the concert Friday.

The telecast will benefit the American Red Cross and be shown on NBC and its cable stations including Bravo, CNBC, USA, MSNBC and E! Other networks are invited to join in.

The concert will be hosted by Matt Lauer. It will air at 8 p.m. Eastern and will be taped-delayed in the West.

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Other performers include Christina Aguilera, Sting and Jimmy Fallon.

The telethon will be broadcast from NBC facilities in Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Winfrey and Huffington launch new HuffPost section

Two of the most powerful women in media -- Oprah Winfrey and Arianna Huffington -- are joining forces.

The two on Thursday launched "HuffPost OWN," a new section on the Huffington Post website that will feature material from the Oprah Winfrey Network and Oprah.com. The new online destination will focus on lifestyle advice and personal inspiration.

Winfrey said she was "delighted to join the conversation" at the Huffington Post. In a blog post, Huffington said Winfrey is "made for the Internet," given her qualities of engagement and authenticity.

There are now nearly six dozen niche sections on the Huffington Post.

Spears, Odom face test of live TV on 'X Factor'

Britney Spears was coolly professional on the first live episode of "The X Factor." The same can't be said for new host Khloe Kardashian Odom and her microphone.

Odom, adding to her reality TV credentials, was paired with Mario Lopez to emcee "X Factor" as the singing contest shifted Wednesday from taped to live broadcasts.

Lopez, host of "Extra," performed like the pro he is. Odom, by contrast, shouted her lines despite the mic clutched in her hand and made awkward small talk with contestants and judge Simon Cowell.

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